All adolescents are enduring a time of tremendous upheaval as every area of their being undergoes tumultuous changes: their bodies, their mental processes, their feelings, and the way they interact with others and the world. The corridor between childhood and adulthood is full of twists and turns at every step. These characteristic changes can be categorized into physical, cognitive, and emotional aspects. As professionals who will work with students in this age range, it is vital to have a foundational understanding of how these aspects affect our them, but especially what impacts their visual impairments may have on their experience in these three critical areas of development.
The physical aspects relate to the young person’s appearance including both what they look like and how they present themselves to others. At this age, it’s all about fitting in with the group. Peers are extremely judgmental and self-conscious. Someone who has an observable difference, something that is thought of as not cool or not “normal”, is likely to be shunned by some of their fellows. These can be cosmetic flaws such as eyes that “look blind”, motor differences like an unusual walking gate, or noticeable bearing like excessive nervousness. Some of these things cannot be helped and of course, real friends will be able to look beyond such shallowness. However, if the visually impaired teen does communicate interest in popular appearance altering techniques such as make up, hair style changes, getting earrings, trying out new clothing, or starting to wear sunglasses, there is no harm in allowing or even aiding in these experiments to a degree. Discussions on these topics are part of the expanded core curriculum and any experimenting will go much smoother if done with the guidance of a caring adult. So called “blindisms” such as rocking back and forth, flapping or stemming, and poking at the eyes, are considered socially unacceptable behaviors that will lead to ostracization among peers, send potential employers running, cultivate negative attitudes in observers, and deter interactions of all kinds if the student is not made aware how these behaviors will be received outside of the resource from or school for the blind. Discussions on how to change or moderate these behaviors should address why it is important to do so and be carried out in a gentle, non-condemning manner. Likewise, support in the areas of self-advocacy and social interaction can help with cultivating a more approachable demeaner to encourage peer to peer interaction. Whether blind or sighted, the adolescent’s self-image will be healthiest for those who have loving family members, adult mentor figures who listen to them and to whom they listen, and trustworthy friends to support them along the way.
Cognitive aspects affect how the student learns, not only in the classroom but in the community and in relations with others. The majority of adolescents experience increases in abstract thinking abilities and independent decision making. While not necessarily “good” at making effective, healthy, or even logical decisions, teens suddenly find themselves wanting to take control of every aspect of their little world and tend to overthink everything. They do not want input from others when making choices, they want to be in charge of what they do, how they do it, and who they do it with and it can be quite an achievement to get them to compromise. My favorite quote from Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix illustrates this point. “This is why I hate being a teacher. Young people are so infernally convinced that they are absolutely right about everything!” (Phineas Nigellus) Of course, this quote is intended humorously as our adolescent students are a wonderful, dynamic group to work with. Much of this desire for autonomy in choice making is positive and a step on the way to developing self-efficacy. It is important for parents and teachers of visually impaired students to give them opportunities to exercise choice in their daily routines as this may be more difficult for them to do independently while still needing assistance in many areas such as transportation, meal preparation, etc.
Additionally, many visually impaired students struggle with understanding abstract concepts that cannot be directly interacted with. This includes academic content like the cell in biology class, topics from the news like explosions, or slang terms used by certain age or cultural groups like calling someone fierce, savage, extra, salty, thirsty, or basic. I have also met numerous visually impaired youths who have very literal thinking and very little or no ability to conceive of figurative language or recognize when something is meant seriously and when it is not. They are thrown off by idioms, puns, bon mots, sarcastic remarks, roasts, turns of phrase, analogies, metaphors, and even similes in academic and social contexts. Depending on the degree, this can have consequences in both these arenas. Teachers and family members can help the student to read situations and differentiate between literal and figurative language instances in practice scenarios. They can provide direct instruction on certain phrases, point out when they occur, and explain their significance. Social interaction and communication skills instruction can inform them on the use of body language to convey either seriousness or jesting is intended and suggest the student listen for tone of voice when these aspects are not accessible. Encourage students to read or listen to stories that present positive models of dialogue between peers and adults so they can vicariously discover the range of language used to express emotions.
The social and emotional aspects of adolescents are characterized by extreme concern about fitting in with a group and playacting to portray oneself in a light that will allow them to be accepted by that chosen group. In general, certain behaviors are acceptable and any divergence can lead to rejection by the particular peer group. More specifically, students will chose subgroups out of the whole peer population to join and to do so, they conform their attire, attitude, behavior patterns, language, and interests to match with those of the subgroup. This same thread runs through all the other aspects as it is such a large part of the adolescent experience. Visually impaired teens have significant challenge in learning to work the social framework of a school to find a group to belong to and peers who will accept them. Some of the reasons for their difficulty include the inability: to view others’ reactions to what they say or do, to see where peers are located in a space, to recognize people around them, to observe and imitate how others act, to be aware of group positioning, to read facial expressions, and respond to gestures. Development of strong social and communication skills is vital for visually impaired students to thrive in such a complex social structure. Many will require direct and sometimes intensive instruction from a TVI or other service providers to acquire an understanding of these concepts. Truly, the necessity of comprehensive instruction in the expanded core curriculum cannot be over emphasized, especially those areas that are rarely targeted in lesson planning such as social interaction. These are the life skills that will empower students to grow into confident and capable adults ready to succeed in both their personal and vocational goals.
If your child is not receiving instruction in any of the nine areas of the Expanded Core Curriculum of life skills or has not been assessed for needs in these areas, visit the Perkins article on this tipic to learn how you can advocate for provision of these services.